Expert: Linda Erwin, M.S. - 2/12/2007

Question
Hi Linda,

Thank you so much for the quick response.
I am actually 32 years old now, so yes I do agree the
older we get our metabolism does slow down. I will start to
incorporate weight training to see what happens, per your suggestion.

I do eat pretty healthily throughout the week, fresh fruits, lean proteins, grilled chicken salads with low cal dressing, lean cuisines for dinner ect. I drink a ton of water through out the day as well. Probably 8- big glasses of water throughout the day.

When I do go out for drinks, I ususally try to stick to low calorie beverages, like light beer, or vodka with club soda. However I agree these drinks are probably stunting my weight loss efforts. I tend to be extremely hungry the day after as well. Is this due to all the sugar in alcohol? I feel ravenously hungry and tend to crave bad foods, which i occasionally give into:(......Even more calories. I feel like experience hypoglycemic type symptoms, the night after drinking. Is that common?

Thank you so much Linda....Looking forward to hearing from you!
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I was wondering if you could help me. I have been struggling to lose weight now for a good few years.
In college, my brother introduced me to running, and weight just fell off me. I lost probably about 20 pounds in
the first 6 weeks. I went from 145 pounds to 125 pounds in no time. It was amazing! However, over the years, I have
slowly put that weight back on. I am still exercising a ton, but I am just maintaining. I eat pretty healthy as well, 5-6 small meals
a day , and try to keep my caloric intake around 1200-1500 cals a day. I am trying to do different things as well in the gym, to
mix up my routine, but I am not losing any weight:(.......I do however, drink on the weekends....probably 6-7 drinks on a Friday night.
I am wondering if the drinking is stunting my weight loss efforts.  But I usually will eat less during the day, if I know I am going to have
a drink. I will usually eat around 800 calories of food that day, to allow me to have some drinks in the evening. I don' t know.....Am I slowing
down my metabolism doing this? I also have been trying to incorporate interval training on the treadmill, to help break past my plateau. It definitely
is alot harder of a work out routine, but still no weight loss.



-----Answer-----
Hi Lauren,
You didn't mention how old you are now but as we get older our metabolism becomes to slow down.  Varying your workouts is a good thing because our bodies get used to the same workouts and won't respond the way we want.
Women need to lift weights to increase the metabolism and muscle burns more calories at rest.  Your calorie intake seems fine but drinking 6-7 drinks in one night might keep you from losing if you are on a weight loss plan.  Remember, alcohol is straight sugar and even if you cut calories during the day, the 7 drinks can have a negative impact.
My suggestion to you is add water to your eating plan...you didn't mention the foods or amount of water you take in per day.  When you go out on the weekends, limit your alcohol intake to 2 drinks.  Are you drinking 6-7 drinks to get wasted?  Drink a glass of water in between each alcoholic drink and see how that works.  Are you drinking cocktails or wine or beer?  White wine is the lowest calorie but it still breaks down as sugar.  Also, if you are eating less that day are you eating fruit?  Fruit breaks down as sugar too so don't eat fruit that day.  
Keep up your hard work but watch your alcohol intake.  Do an experiment and don't drink alcohol for a month.  See if you lose weight..if you do then you have your answer.
Good luck,
Linda
Let me know what happens.

Answer
You are absolutely right about being ravenous the next day due from the sugar binge.  Our bodies react to refined sugars by wanting more...that's why we are all so fat in the U.S.
Keep up the good work and don't focus so much on your weight.  Focus on your health and feeling good.  I bet you look fabulous!
Linda